…For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Best and Worst Education News of 2013 — So Far

I need to add one more “Best Of 2013 – So Far” list to the ones I’ve posted so far, and that’s my annual “The Best And Worst Education News Of 2013 — So Far.”

As usual, I don’t presume to say it’s all-encompassing, so I hope you’ll take time to share your own choices in the comment section. I’ll list the ones I think are the best first, followed by the worst. It’s too hard to rank them within those categories, so I’m not listing them in any order.

* The successful boycott of the unnecessary MAP standardized test by teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle that spread to six other local schools and inspired educators everywhere. Teachers who participated in the boycott were not disciplined (as had been threatened) and using the MAP tests have now been made optional. Garfield teachers’ strategy of organizing a united front of teachers, parents and students demonstrated that collective action can have a major impact on education policy that affects our classrooms.

* Passage and approval of California Governor Jerry Brown’s new funding formula that not only increases school funding across the board, but provides more monies to districts with higher numbers of low-income students. We can only hope that it will be a model for other states to follow.

* The deaths of children (and adults) as a result of the terrifying Oklahoma tornado will never be considered anything but awful news. But the heroic response of local educators risking their own lives to save their students is another reminder that teachers do put the interests of children ahead of their own.

* More and more research was published supporting the view that, yes, our students need good schools, but if we’re truly serious about providing them with genuine opportunities, what really needs to happen are major economic and political changes. I suspect quite a few of us are tired of hearing the refrain of “No Excuses” when we point out this reality.

* Charlotte Danielson is the guru for many districts that are initiating new teacher evaluation programs. Arthur Goldstein discovered a video of her declaring that standardized test scores should not be used in those teacher evaluations. I wonder if district administrators are listening? And, speaking of test scores and their validity in determining teacher quality, an important study determined that teacher success in helping students’ develop non-cognitive skills (an area of high-interest these days) had no relation to their Value Added Measurement (VAM) score.

* In his annual appearance on this list, Harvard professor Roland Fryer failed once again to prove that extrinsic motivation increased student achievement. One of this year’s failed experiments was giving students cellphones and sending them daily “inspirational” text messages. It didn’t work, but it did receive an advertising award.

* The millions of students who had great learning experiences in their schools this year.

* Bill Gates’ PBS-televised TED Talk where he announced that billions of dollars should be spent videotaping all teachers. Almost simultaneously, the teacher he showed a video of in his talk said she disagreed with him. And, even though his foundation announced at the same time they want to start listening to teachers more, there was no chorus of “preach on, Bill!” from educators across the U.S.

* The millions of students who are not getting the education they deserve.

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One Comment

How about John Merrow’s reporting about Rhee and DC cheating under her watch?

I don’t know if that’s good news or bad. Good news in that her credibility plummeted. Bad news in that there are likely thousands of students who were hurt and maybe dozens or hundreds of teachers who were fired or didn’t receive a bonus due to these tests.

My Newest Book On Student Motivation!

My Second Book On Teaching ELLs

My book, "The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels," (co-authored by Katie Hull Sypnieski) was published in the Summer of 2012